We're back in Rome! And it wasn't easy getting here. The day started out great! Our plane didn't leave until noon, so we had all morning to hang out with everyone before leaving the ship. Scarlet reorganized the room keys, I appropriated a blue card for the scrapbook (sorry Mr. Z) and we spent our last few hours in the lobby talking with whoever wanted to listen. At 9:30, the cruise was officially over as we stepped into the cab in Greece. And finish story.
I had printed off our plane tickets a few nights before given my connections with the crew, so getting into the airport and to security was a cinch. This is where it all went downhill.
First, we were stopped in the beginning of the security line. The guard wanted to check our liquids. Different, but okay. I had the all ready in my plastic bag anyway. Everyone passed the test except me. Grandma and Grandpa had brought some contact solution over for me after I ran out. They got two of these containers through security in America, so I really didn't think there would be a problem. I thought wrong. She told me the container needed to be thrown away, so when she turned to the next person, I tossed it into the bottom of my bag. They never really check there anyway.
There were very few people in line, so we got up to the front pretty quickly. Normally, setting my computer and liquids out is good enough. Not for these people. They needed me to dig around to find every electronic I had. Five minutes later, I was walking through the scanner. Of course I forgot to take my watch off. Cue pat down. It wasn't too bad yet. Once I'd been deemed a clean American, I made my way over to my bag where another grumpy security lady met me and said "You have curling iron and straightener, yes? Take them out of bag."
Here's the thing about my packing style. Everything has a place, and once the bag is closed, it's closed. There is no taking things out and putting them back nicely. It's like the perfectly planned jigsaw puzzle Scarlet finished last week on the boat. It's fun to do once, but it's not okay to take it halfway apart then redo it in the same day.
Reluctantly, I opened up my bag and grabbed what the lady wanted from the middle of everything. Then the bag had to be scanned again. When it came back through I thought I'd be off the hook. Wrong again. "You still have liquids. Open bag." Thus started the full bag search through and ended with me losing my contact solution and face wash (all which would have gone through an American airport just fine). The one thing that would not have passed through an American airport was the toothpaste that the lady never found so HA!
Grandpa was more concerned about the success of the actual flying part. Ever heard of the company "easyjet?" No? exactly. The cheap tickets worked out fine though! I got my 2 hour plane nap and everyone was happy when we landed in Rome.
We made it to our apartment in a 9 person shuttle van and checked out our sweet view of the Colosseum from the window! The Bed and Breakfast we are staying at, Royal House, is right across the street from it. We are big fans of "freshening up" - or napping - so we freshened up before going out for a late lunch. Eating out for every meal is still a foreign concept to me. The boat was like home, so we had meals there most of the time, and with the family, Mom always made dinner. For the next three days, breakfast, lunch, and dinner will all be served in whatever restaurant catches our eye.
To top off this day, we hailed a cab and headed for the opera house to watch the ballet Sleeping Beauty. I had never seen a ballet before and was very impressed. Dancing isn't something that I am a pro at critiquing, but these girls and guys on stage just seemed weightless and top notch. Scarlet and I were in a box next to Grandma and Grandpa, so we took the first row for ourselves.
Note the glasses due to lack of contact solution.
After three hours or so we walked out of the theater like zombies ready to snuggle into the covers to catch some zzz's. Grandpa negotiated with the cab driver until we ended up back home and everyone slept like babies.
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